Stolen Ideas

This past weekend I took a trip down to Mom’s in a rental van.

(The saga of The Van is a whole nother story).

Anyway, the purpose of the trip was to bring her this massive, Ethan Allen “Nob Hill” club chair and ottoman that I’ve had taking up space in my condo.

I dearly love the chair (so comfy!) but alas had no room for it anymore. And mom had always coveted that chair.

She also had room for it, as she needed a chair for her living room. And the color was actually a perfect match. So….

I loaded up the truck and I moved it to Beverly. Ankeny, that is. Walmarts, movie rental places.

However, once there Mother decided that I needed to take some of my old toys home with me. To sell or keep, my choice.

So much for my freed-up living space.

But all was not a total loss. For in my toys was my case of matchbox cars. An I knew just what to do with those!

For you see, awhile back I stumbled upon a design idea courtesy of Chris Stout-Hazard (partner of Roger from the tv show Design Hazards).

Chris had chosen to display a collection of matchbox cars in a unique way– stacked up in a clear vase.

Like so:

Once I got over my initial horror (how dare he mistreat his precious cars like that?!?) the idea grew on me. And stuck with me.

After all, I had quite a collection myself, and all it was doing was sitting in a box in my mother’s basement. Why not display them in a whimsical manner like this?

It totally fits my design esthetic, too!

Plus I loved these cars. Other than my Legos, they were my most played with toys. So it’s nice to have them around again.

Now if only Chris had a solution for my Tonka trucks and Star Wars toys.